8. Day 3, afternoon#
We are going to have a look at a few of the enlightenment factors, the bojjhangas. These enlightenment factors are given by the Buddha in the fourth section in the satipatthana text, the section under dhamma-nupassana or contemplation of mind objects. The five hindrances are also in the same section. They are the unwholesome mind states that come to surround consciousness and cause us so many difficulties. As we develop those four foundations of mindfulness in our meditation practice, these seven enlightenment factors start to be developed as well. These seven enlightenment factors are mental states of mind that we develop. They are wholesome states.
The first one is mindfulness, sati sambojjhanga. Bo means ‚to know’, Bodhi or Buddha. To know, to become enlightened. Anga is a causative factor. So bojjhanga is a causative factor of enlightenment, of knowing.
The seven enlightenment factors will need to be developed during our meditation practice. Consciousness, the knowing gets surrounded by these seven enlightenment factors. They are the ones that are doing our meditation work and they will eventually elevate consciousness out of samsara, out of dukkha and into cessation.
8.1. First enlightenment factor sati#
133 Mindfulness is the generally accepted translation of sati. But we can also use awareness. One of my meditation masters used to use the words observing power. He thought that was much better to describe the faculty of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is dynamic and confronting. Mindfulness leaps onto its objects, covering them completely, penetrating them and not missing any part of the objects.
The characteristic of mindfulness, this state we are activating in the present moment, is non-superficiality. Mindfulness sinks into its objects. When we direct our awareness to an object, the task of mindfulness is to drag consciousness to the place of knowing. If we’re looking at the rise and fall of the abdomen, awareness will drag our consciousness, our knowing, to the place and sink into the movement of the abdomen. It sinks in, it doesn’t float on the surface. It’s non-superficial. It’s penetrative. Awareness takes us into the object so that we penetrate it. Some may have started to experience it with the breath, coming closer, closer, closer, until it comes up right in front of it. You feel like you’re inside the breath. It’s confronting. Up in your face like that. The object and the mind start to join together in our experience.
Mindfulness is non-superficial. It’s deep and profound. It doesn’t float on the surface. A cork thrown into a river just floats on the surface, a stone thrown sinks into it, into the object. This is what mindfulness does. It sinks into it so that other mental factors, such as wisdom can do their job, specifically wisdom does seeing things clearly and letting them go. Mindfulness ensures that the mind will sink deeply into the object.
The function of mindfulness is non-disappearance. That means we don’t forget what we are doing. It doesn’t disappear from the object. We’re trying to be firm. We’re not forgetting or allowing our object to disappear from our frames of reference. The object is noticed, and noticed, and noted and noted and not forgotten about. We don’t forget in the middle of a breath and start wandering off. Mindfulness is not yet established if that is happening. We sink into the object, we stay there and the object doesn’t disappear from our view. Mindfulness drags our consciousness into the present so that it knows just that object that mindfulness has selected and gone into. We 134 need to be firm to put our mind in the abdomen area so it doesn’t slip off. We may have to repeatedly put down our mind into the abdomen area. We have to reestablish it. We have to constantly reactivate our awareness at the abdomen. We are training our mind so it knows what it’s doing. We keep sending the mind there, keep sending it there, keep sending it there. Eventually, it knows exactly what it’s doing and it will start to go there by itself. Like taking a dog to the park, the dog starts to know the way, it doesn’t need a leash nor to be told. Our mindfulness is the same. We train the mind. Our mind starts to go there, to the abdomen automatically. Even when we do our daily activities, you may find your awareness coming spontaneously to the rise and fall of the abdomen.
The manifestation of mindfulness is confrontation. We will know it, because the object is right up there, right close to us. We’ve come right in clear to it. You will feel that you are deep down inside the body surrounded by your abdomen. You are in there! You are confronting it. In the beginning stages we start to get kind of a feeling, well now it’s extended, now it’s contracted, it’s expanding and contracting and then we start to see a few more subtle things. And then finally we start to see it very clearly indeed. This is what is happening whilst we’re directing our awareness to the abdomen.
We are constantly sending it there, we are focusing, we are being firm, and we are trying not to slip off it. When the mind penetrates these processes, when it can stay with the movement, then it starts to really understand the nature of the four elements. It sees the hardness, it sees the pressure, it sees the tension and the vibration. All these elements are manifesting quite clearly at this stage to the mind. You will come to the understanding that you are definitely not this body. This body is something but it is not you. You will come to an understanding that it’s not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. You will come to an understanding this is actually quite an unsatisfactory predicament we have got ourselves in. You will see the nature of what it really means to be infested with a body. We had it foisted upon us. We have to have this thing! So we start to see more clearly. We start to see its impermanence, we see the unsatisfactory nature of it, and we actually see that it is not us anyway. It is this thing we have to carry around with us and care for. Clean, feed, sleep. We start to see it as it really is.
135 When mindfulness confronts an object, it’s like it doesn’t see it so clearly in the beginning stages. It’s like there’s somebody at the end of the road. You can see that there’s someone there but you can’t make out if it’s a man or woman. You can’t see their face at all. But as you get closer and closer, then the details start to become clear. You can start to see its face. You can start to see if it’s someone you know. As you get closer and closer you get to see more details about that person.
This is what mindfulness is like. It’s not superficial. It’s not vague or blurry. It’s quite clear and quite distinct. Mindfulness sinks in its object. This is the function of sati sambojjhanga. To bring us into the present moment and sink into the object. It’s that mental factor which pulls consciousness, the knowing, into the present moment and sinks into an object so it can realize the nature of that object, note it, know it and let it go.
So we have to apply a sharp degree of care. We have to look meticulously at our object of observation to understand its true nature. When we can bring ourselves face-to-face to the rising and falling of the abdomen, the details will start to appear by themselves and the practice will start to bear some fruit.
Once we repeatedly face the object, and when there is no misses, the object won’t be easily forgotten, you’ll understand its true nature. And you will be able to, not only develop mindfulness, but hopefully be able to stabilize that mindfulness. We’ll make that mindfulness so continuous, that it becomes a state of samadhi. Continuous awareness, stability, or a concentrated state of mind.
When we’re developing this awareness, this mindfulness, it builds a very strong barrier to the arising of other defilements. Greed, hatred and delusion and the five hindrances seem to get swept away, once mindfulness starts to show up on the scene. It has a lot of power in the mental scene and those hindrances, that arise continuously, start to be suppressed for a little bit. We start to move them out of the way. When we move them out of the way, we can start to see what is actually going on with the mind. It’s because of these five hindrances, that the mind is covered by all kinds of distractions, all kinds of foliage that we can’t see it clearly.
You will start to feel a state of ease and comfort once mindfulness is 136 being established because the defilements won’t have a chance to enter. They are temporarily suppressed. You will find that just that by itself is a pleasant experience. Just being free form the five hindrances is a wonderful experience. Just that. And we go even further. Once we start to develop, once the hindrances are gone, then you will start to see the true nature of the mind.
When mindfulness is persistently and repeatedly activated, then wisdom can do its job as well. We start to have insight into the true nature of the mind and body. We see the individual phenomena and we also see the general characteristics of all phenomena. Impermanence starts to show itself. Dukkha is revealed. Non-self, a frightening experience, reveals. When you realize, that actually this body is not me, it’s quite a shock. I shouldn’t say it’s frightening, but it can be quite a shock. It’s a deep insight with profound implications. You start to realize that this thing is not you. You stop identifying with it. Even if it’s just for a moment, you start to see things quite differently.
So the cause of mindfulness is nothing more than mindfulness itself. The more we practice it, the more we can develop it, the more it gets developed by itself until it becomes continuous, or what the Burmese would call you reach a stage of momentum, where mindfulness, wisdom and awareness are almost automatic. We almost don’t have to activate them anymore. They are just there, staying there. The Thais call it maha sati. The Burmese call it momentum. We can call it continuity of awareness.
So the development of mindfulness is simply a continuum. One moment after the next moment, moment after moment. We are inclining our mind towards activating this state. At this stage of the meditation retreat, this has been pretty much what we have been doing for the last few days. We have been activating our awareness to the present moment, bringing it in our body. We are trying to establish our awareness on the body. We are trying to establish our awareness in the body so that we can see it for what it really is. How we can do that is by accessing these sensations that are arising throughout the body. When we start examining these sensations, then we come to a state of concentration if we can practice continuously. This state of observation, this state of mindfulness starts to become concentrated. Things start to become clear.
137 As a meditator the only task is to be aware of whatever is arising in the present moment. This is our main thing, this is what we are doing here. Everything else is very much a secondary activity. Activating and maintaining our awareness in the present moment is our priority until this enlightenment factor of mindfulness can be fully developed. So I encourage you to put aside any other activities.
8.2. Third enlightenment factor viriya#
The third enlightenment factor is known as viriya sambojjhanga. Viriya means energy. The first three enlightenment factors, mindfulness, energy and investigation are the mental states that are doing the work of meditation. They are doing the job of activating awareness, sinking into the object and then knowing it by letting it go, letting it go after it’s been known. But the third enlightenment factor energy is the energy expended, that we use in activating our awareness into the present. Mindfulness pulls us to the present but we need to activate it. And this effort that we make of keeping coming back to the present moment is what we mean by energy here. It is a mental effort. It is the effort to be constantly here and now. The effort to be meditating. The effort to be aware. It is the effort that we make when we notice that the mind has wandered, started thinking about stuff, we bring it back to the present. This is strong effort when we are constantly doing that, then we are going to develop this enlightenment factor that will take us all the way. If we are still not doing that, if we’re still allowing the mind to wander here and there some times, if we are still not being a strict parent parenting our mind correctly, then we are going to end up with a mind that wanders and goes here and there. We have to take care of the mind. We have to train the mind. This is what energy is about, directing our mind consistently and persistently and continuously towards the present moment and the object of our observation.
In the old Pali books, viriya is described as the state of the heroic ones. People who are hard working, who have the capacity of doing stuff, they can be heroic in whatever they do, wherever. We need to have a lot of effort in meditation. It’s not a matter of just coming into the hall, sitting down, closing our eyes, and «ok, come on insight please arrive and land on me.» That’s 138 not going to happen. We need to put the right conditions in place. And those right conditions contain effort. So it’s effort itself that gives people a heroic capacity. It’s just their effort that makes them successful.
The characteristic of effort is an enduring patience in the face of difficulty. When we experience difficulties or troubles, it is effort that stands up to the trouble. We put forth effort, we try to train the mind, we try to be patient. We try to tolerate. It’s the ability to see to the end whatever one sets one’s heart on. We decide we are going to do something and we are going to work and we are going to do it. This kind of effort. Even when it is difficult. Even when we are tired, bored and lonely. It’s the effort that we put forth to achieve our goal.
So patience and acceptance from the very beginning of the practice is very important. We need to accept that it is not going to be an easy ride. Some of us had easy lives. Things come to us easily. We are intelligent, we cruised through school. Someone gave us a good job. We collected a bit of money. Things have been relatively easy for us. The only way to find out how tough we are is when we try to stand-up to the difficulties of life. When we start to have some stress. When we start to have some worry or some concern or our mind starts freaking out a little bit. That’s when we need the effort and the energy to be tolerant to endure what is going on in the mind. It’s the ability to grip one’s teeth right through to the end what one starts.
On a retreat like this we sleep much less, sitting motionless on the floor in the heat cross-legged. Your mind is dissatisfied thinking about all those sensual pleasures that you’re missing out. Lots of things going on here in the mind whilst we are on retreat. You need courageous effort to forebear these difficulties. If you raise your energy level than your mind gains strength to bear with it. Of course, you can swing around your leg when you have pain, but try to keep it a little bit longer. Train your mind in patience and forbearance.
Effort has the power to refresh the mind and keep it powered. There is a lot of energy that we use in our meditation practice but once it starts, mindfulness starts, you may not be able to sleep before midnight. You are lying there wondering what is going on. So tired all the time and now you can’t sleep. This is just mindfulness starting to come into practice. It’s starting 139 to be continuous. Once mindfulness is turned on, it’s difficult to turn it off. Thankfully! This is particularly drawn out in a longer retreat. You will see how energized the mind can become. Sleep, whilst still necessary is very much a secondary interest of the mind of a long-term meditator. The mind becomes sharp, alert and clear. In fact it gets a lot of rest from just being in samadhi. It replenishes itself. We don’t need so much sleep.
The enlightenment factor of effort has the function of supporting the practice. It supports the mind when it is under attack. It is very important to have some encouragement and some inspiration. Not only from yourself but from the group here. You will find that meditating in a group can be much more powerful.
Our meditation practice does take a great deal of energy. We really do have to work to establish continuity of our awareness. We do need to keep activating our awareness. Keep pulling ourselves back inside the body. Keep pulling ourselves back into the present moment. As soon as we’ve noticed we have gone out, bring it back! Don’t hesitate. Chop off the conversation that you’re having with yourself or your friend. Stop thinking about those plans that you have been making. Tell yourself that you will be able to think about this stuff later. Now is not the time! Now you have deadlines to meet! You have work to do. It’s not the time for idle fantasies or imaginative journeys. Thinking and pondering about stuff is not going to take you anywhere. That’s not what we’re here to do.
When the Buddha spoke of energy as being a kind of heat, when the mind is filled with energy, it becomes hot to dry out those hindrances. When we are noting and knowing and letting go, noting, knowing and letting go, the mind becomes very hot. Any of those defilements or any of those hindrances in the mind are just blown away. It dries out like a stick of wood, as a simile in the text goes. Our defilements simply can’t compete with an energized mind. When we’re activating our awareness in the present moment continuously, these five hindrances are blown away. We have the tool to remove them. And the tool is in our own mind.
If our effort is strong and the mind can vaporize defilements, the mind will vaporize defilements before they can really touch us. In putting forth right effort, the sixth factor of the noble eightfold path, we are doing four 140 things: two on the negative or unwholesome spectrum, two on the positive or wholesome spectrum. Our energy or right effort is to ensure that any unwholesome states, any of those hindrance if you like, that have arisen already, we get rid of them. Note them, know them and let them go. If they haven’t arisen yet, we block them from arising by maintaining our awareness in the present. And on the wholesome side, if these enlightenment factors haven’t yet arisen, we put forth effort and put the conditions in place for them to arise. And if they have already arisen, we put forth effort to develop them further and strengthen them and grow them until they come to complete fulfillment.
So we are overcoming and avoiding the unwholesome and we are arousing and developing the wholesome states. And these enlightenment factors are on the side of the wholesome. An energized mind can jump from one object to the other with ease and quickness. Once we develop the right level of energy, we will be able to easily do the practice of ‚rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling, sitting, touching’. The mind will know where it is going, it will be internalized, it will be present, and it will be able to jump from object to object. In fact following it around quite closely. So our awareness and these objects of the body come quite close. We don’t loose track of them. The mind is very interested in what it’s doing. There is a great deal of enthusiasm and interest, when our energy is fully activated, activating our awareness into the present moment. This is the type of energy we are talking about here.
When we can do this, defilements are blown away. The mind becomes clear. Clarity increases. There is a brightness in the mind. It starts to see things as they really are. Energetic mindfulness allows us to deeply penetrate into the object of observation. It doesn’t allow the mind to scatter and wander way.
With energy we are activating our awareness, noting what’s there. The second enlightenment factor, investigation can be activated quite clearly. We are activating our energy, we are increasing our mindfulness and so it penetrates, and then wisdom does the job of letting go. We are noting, knowing and letting go. We are activating our awareness, noting what is there, allowing wisdom to wiggle ourselves free from our attachment to that object, and 141 it’s passing away. Then we’re repeating the process over and over again until the mind stabilizes and gets still in this way of watching the mind and body. It’s not a reactionary process. We’re not reacting with liking or disliking. We are just observing and allowing the mind to disengage from that stuff, from the mental and physical phenomena that keep arising and passing away. That’s stuff that doesn’t belong to anyone and yet, we are very, very busy of trying to hold on to it and try to create an identity. We are trying to create a life out of it. Craving for being is trying to establish itself. That’s all craving wants to do. Craving wants to be. It very much wants to be something. You may have been able to see that in your life already. In various stages of our life we really want to be something.
So energy is at times essential. If a meditator can’t muster the effort to confront his own defilements, or confront a difficult mind state, if you can’t really sit there and look what is going on in your mind, you’re going to get stuck! You’re going to start cringing and cowering. You can’t sit and look at the nature of your own mind. You need to be able to do this. You need to be able to observe it objectively without getting caught up in it. Without being freaked out by the nature of your own thoughts. Without following the thoughts. Very often we get stuck in this story of our thoughts. We totally believe our own stories. In fact, we make up stories for us to believe and delude ourselves. We create nonsense and then try to believe it. We try to think that there is some happiness in that. Of course, it very rarely is. If it is, it’s only very momentary before it passes away and we are on the search again for something else to give us some happiness, to give us some meaning, to give us some being.
Craving for being is the cause for suffering, and yet, all we do our lives is entertain this notion of craving to be, wanting to be, becoming. On this we have focussed our life so far. Constantly going after new things to become. «I want to become a sailor. I want to become this, I want to be this, I want to be that…» because that’s the only way we know how to get pleasure. Our only way – up to now! Real pleasure comes from a concentrated mind, a mind that is still and bright, knowing. There is great deal of pleasure into that. The pleasure of a sensual world fades in comparison. It’s like comparing a bowl of dog food on the floor that’s been there for a few days with one 142 of our nice meals. There is really no choice, is there?
So for effort to be developed to the point of being a factor of enlightenment, it must have the quality of persistence. We need to be persistent in our effort, we need to keep going, keep being persistent even when troubles or blockages come, even when we have a little freak out, when an emotional state really throws us. Be persistent! Keep noting and knowing and you will break through it. Sometimes it takes six or ten times to note a particular emotional state to note it and truly let it go. Sometimes it takes longer. You have to keep working with some states because they have become habitual. Our long ingrained habits that we have been reacting in the same way to the same object for 20 years now. So we have a reaction cycle and process in place. It takes some effort to break this, but it’s evidently breakable. We can move beyond the trap that we have set up for ourselves. So with persistent effort the mind can be protected from its wrong thoughts.
This enlightenment factor blows the third hindrance, laziness and boredom, out of the water. Once energy is established, we can really start functioning quite clearly in our practice.
The Buddha was quite brief in describing the cause how energy arises. He says it is from wise attention. Paying attention to the cause of energy creates energy. When we realize the cause of what we’re doing, when we see our motivation for what we are doing – that is desire to escape from samsara – when you see the impermanence and the unsatisfactoriness of this mind and body process, it does arise in the mind a state known as samvega. It is the desire to escape from the conditioned realm, the desire to move beyond this very impermanent, dependently arisen, conditioned, impersonal mind and body process. It’s the desire to escape from it. To move out of it. This is called evolution. This is the evolution of our species. And this is what the Buddha was hailed for in his time. Someone who broke through, broke out of the mind and body process, broke out of dukkha, broke out of the identification with the mind and body process.
So this is the type of effort or energy that we need if we’re going to go to practice wholeheartedly. I wholly recommend, that you put forth as much effort and energy as you can to just activating your awareness in the present moment. Just keep coming back. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting any 143 results. It doesn’t matter if anything is happening. Don’t be discouraged. I assure you the conditions that we have been putting in place for the last few days, will start to show their results in a very short period of time – if you have been doing, if you have been consistent in the practice.
The three enlightenment factors energy, mindfulness and investigation start to spin on each other. Noting, knowing and letting go. These start to do the work and then the other enlightenment factors will start to be developed.
8.3. Painful sensations#
Some of you will be experiencing some aches and pains in your body and you may be wondering how you can deal with them in this meditation practice. You may be thinking, «I can’t mediate because of the pain. I really can’t concentrate my mind.» Those physical sensations are part of the practice as well. This is a good way to develop the enlightenment factor of energy. The Buddha said, that unwholesome intention leads to resultants that are experienced as painful feeling. So if you have been experiencing a few painful feelings or a few painful sensations, I think it is save to say that there has been some unwholesomeness going on. And this is karma.
Our experience of physical sensations is not so bad when compared to a dog for example. Imagine having a body like that. It is covered in fur and has got creatures living in it. When we get a single ant walking on our arm, we start screaming. Imagine having hundreds of flees living on your body consistently. So our physical sensations are not so bad. Others have it much worse than us. But still physical sensations will have to be dealt with, if we are to be successful in our meditation practice.
By now you should have all had a few physical sensation that are painful. If we keep our posture changing all the time, then we will keep disrupting the flow of our practice. So we have to learn to sit still. We are going to have to learn to sit for 45 minutes or longer. On the first couple of days, you may feel it will be impossible. But towards the end it will be better.
Try to manage your pain, that we don’t constantly react to it, that we don’t constantly shuffle around. Stay with a physical sensation that is painful for a while and just see if you can note it. See if you can become aware of it. What is it that makes these sensations unpleasant? It is just the four 144 elements balancing themselves. Just the ratio is changing. Various things are going on in the body all the time, changing here and there. The four elements are just manifesting as physical sensations in the body. Investigating a very strong or powerful sensation can be a very wonderful meditation object, can be a very unique experience in the life of a meditator, when we start to practice with physical sensations. Because the five aggregates arise together and pass together, awareness can take different perspectives of the same present moment experience. We can look at the sensations that are created or are occurring in the body. We can have a look at the unpleasantness which is a mental state. This is also occurring at the same time. These are two different things. There is a physical sensation of aching, or throbbing or hardness – that is one thing. And there is an unpleasantness that is in the mind. The sensation is in the body, the pain is in the mind. These two things arise together, exist together and pass away together. They are two separate things. They are mind and matter. Consciousness is that which knows what is going on. These three are arising and passing away together. We can activate our awareness and wisdom in that present moment and see how this physical sensation and how this painful feeling do arise together. And in fact we can separate them and see them clearly. Indeed we will need to do this in our Vipassana practice to progress.
So if we have been slow in noting a physical sensation, it very quickly turns into something painful. It becomes accompanied by a mental feeling. We appropriate it and call it mine. «My painful knee!» Three things going on there. Knee is a concept. Pain is unpleasant, we start to call it mine. We start to hold on to something that is unpleasant. We started to identify with something that is unpleasant. So we shouldn’t wonder why we are experiencing suffering if we are holding on to something that is associated with unpleasantness. All we need to do is drop that. Drop the holding, we won’t experience the feeling as unpleasant anymore.
If someone puts a ball of hot metal in your hand, we shouldn’t keep holding it and complain, «oh it is hurting». If we hold on to it: «Oh it is mine, it is my emotional state, and I will keep on holding to it as long as I can and give myself dukkha as long a I can.» That is quite often what we do with emotional states. They arise and we hold on to them, burning ourselves. We 145 need to learn the practice of letting them go. And this practice with physical sensations can help us to do that. There are two different strategies to deal with painful sensations.
The first one is as follows. You are noting, knowing letting go, ’rising, falling, sitting, touching, hearing’. We do this cycle 90% of our time. But when something distracting comes, we need to note that object. We put our mind into the knee and go to the most concentrated point of that sensations and burry the mind into the knee. And we make a note of whatever the sensation is, ’throbbing, bouncing, hot’. Just acknowledge that this is your present moment experience. Don’t go into the knee and identify with it. «Oh it’s my knee.» And then just come back ’rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling sitting, touching,…’ and then go back again to the knee, where the sensation is strongest. ’Aching, aching, aching’. And then stay there for a moment and see what happens after you made the note. There are four possibilities that can happen: a) the sensation will increase, b) it decreases, c) it completely disappears, d) it changes places (e.g. it goes from the knee to your back. I don’t know why it does this, how it does this; it is scared to the noting mind perhaps). Then continue ’rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling sitting, touching’, then come back. Until the mind let’s it go. Do this four, six, maybe ten times. Note, know, observe the change! We incorporate the physical sensation into our practice.
The second requires more effort and concentration and is for dharma warriors. It should only be done on painful physical sensations of our practice not on old injuries! Meditation pain you recognize that it goes away after standing up. In case of old injuries don’t do this kind of practice. ’Rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling sitting, touching,…’ then we send our mind to the place where the sensation is the strongest. We stay there and drill in, like an electric drill into the physical sensation, bbrrr. We are not identifying nor getting angry. We stay with the physical sensation. We are using it as an object for awareness and wisdom. Hold the mind there, it can be a strong sensation. Hold your mind there, ’aching, aching, aching, aching’. Just watch what happens. Then go in there again in the most concentrated part of the physical sensation. We are keeping going into it, holding it there, holding it there, you may start to tremble, to shake or to sweat 146 a little bit. Don’t worry about that. Stay there, stay there. If it’s too much come to the ’rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling sitting, touching’. Then go in again, drill into it, like an electric drill, bbrrrrr. Stay there, keep gently noting. Don’t identify my pain – this is very important. Noting it, noting it, noting it – until boom! (slap) it disappears. It snaps. Our experience shatters. The physical sensation is still in the body but our experience of the sensation comes out of the body as an ephemeral experience. There is a separation of the mind and the body. You will see that the sensation and the feeling are two separate things. The feeling sensation changes into a neutral one. You are not attached to it and let it go in the present moment. You will be left with three things: the physical sensation doing its thing, the mental feeling doing its thing and the knowing, the consciousness, observing what is going on. This is a Vipassana insight that we can break through to. Do it only on meditation pains! If this happens, you should make a note in the present moment: Knowing, knowing, knowing. A state of knowing is occur- ring in the present and it is quite unique, a Vipassana insight knowing. Once you have passed this stage, you may find that sitting will become easier and easier for you. It only takes one or two breakthroughs like this to really break through the false view that we have to be subjected to these sensations all the time. We actually become to free the mind from physical sensations that arise in the body. We become quite quick in it as well. So that we can get to the point a physical painful sensation arises, and we quickly turn off the mind so that we don’t have to react.